Under Investigation : Transforming Disciplinary Practice in the Workplace.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cooper, Andrew.

Contributor:

Neal, Adrian.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (189 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Bristol : Bristol University Press, 2025.

Summary:

While employee relations investigations are an important part of organisational practice for managing workplace issues, there is growing evidence of the significant harm they can cause to individuals being taken through them.

Contents:

Front Cover

Series

Under Investigation: Transforming Disciplinary Practice in the Workplace

Copyright Page

Table of Contents

About the Editors

Notes on Contributors

Acknowledgements

Editors' Note

Foreword

Introduction

The patient safety movement

Avoiding harm

Who is this book for?

HR students

Practitioners in human resources and management

Human resources leaders

Employers

A book in three parts

Some caveats

Fresh insights

Relevance to all employers

People from an ethnic minority background

Lived experience

Bold change

References

Part I Counting the Cost

1 The Impact on the Investigated: The Potential for Harm to Employees Who Are Subject to Disciplinary Investigations

Impact on the individual undergoing investigation

Professional

Reputational

Financial

Physical and mental health

Emotional

Social

Family life

Further reflections

Questions

2 The Impact on Investigators: Understanding the Harm that Managers and Others Involved in Disciplinary Investigations Can Experience

Managing workplace discipline

Attitudes to procedure

Confidence and capability

Investigators and investigations

Lack of confidence

'Over-​investigation'

Discomfort

Ill-​equipped

Investigations: impacting the investigators

Managing internal conflicts

3 The Impact on Culture: The Potential for Harm to Organizational Culture Through Poorly Managed or Avoidable Disciplinary Investigations

What is organizational culture?

What is meant by harm?

The psychological contract

Psychological safety

Organizational justice

Organizational reputation

References.

4 The Impact on the Bottom Line: The Economic and Financial Harm Caused by Avoidable or Poorly Managed Disciplinary Investigations

Financial costs

Economic costs

Waste

Part II Making the Change

5 A Last Resort: How Pursuing Informal Resolution Can Lead to a Reduction in Employee Investigations, Sick Days and Costs

Prerequisites for improvement

Team and QI capacity

Organizational and wider factors

Paving the ground

Applying the Model for Improvement

What are we trying to accomplish?

How will we know that a change is an improvement?

What changes can we make that will result in improvement?

Implementing PDSA

Project outcomes

Further remarks

6 Creating Compassionate Cultures: How a Compassionate Culture Leads to the Reduction and Better Management of Employee Investigations

Compassionate cultures

Compassionate practices in employee investigations

Compassionate leadership

Attending/​listening

Understanding

Empathizing

Helping

7 First Principles: How Clear and Compassionate Disciplinary Policies and Processes Minimize the Harm and Costs of Employee Investigations

What makes good disciplinary policy?

Common challenges

Differences in experience

Leader decision-​making styles

Organizational culture

Procedural barriers

Lack of focus on restoration, support and compassion

Reviewing existing policies

Nine steps to effective policy development

Step 1: Set up a steering group

Step 2: Develop a set of guiding principles

Step 3: Apply an evidence-​based practice approach

Step 4: Develop a draft and engage

Step 5: Develop supporting documentation.

Step 6: Check for usability and accessibility

Step 7: Pilot, test and engage (again)

Step 8: Implement

Step 9: Review and evaluate

8 Alongside the Lawyer: How Understanding the Lawyer's Perspective Supports the Better Management of Employee Investigations

Employment tribunals

The roles of legal representatives in tribunal processes

The Outsider

The Protector

The Politician

Conclusion

Part III Charting the Future

9 Working in the Grey: How Human Resources Can Mitigate Organizational Risk and Promote Employee Wellbeing in the Management of Employee Investigations

The evolution of the role of HR

HR roles

Legislation relating to health and safety

Employee investigation tensions

10 How the Concept of Avoidable Employee Harm Can Be Used to Improve the Management of Employee Investigations

Development of the construct of avoidable employee harm

Application of the construct

The value of the avoidable employee harm construct

Different to health and wellbeing

Different to unintended consequences of management

Difference from Marxist theory

A systemic perspective

The avoidable

Indirect impacts

Potential next steps for avoidable employee harm

Measures

Consultation and joint enquiry

11 A Systematic Approach: How an Effective Occupational Health and Wellbeing Approach Can Improve the Management of Employee Investigations

Interventions to support employee health and wellbeing

Primary interventions

Secondary interventions

Tertiary interventions

The intervention process.

Employee investigations as an employee health and wellbeing intervention

12 The Disciplinary Policy and Beyond: Steps to Improve the Management of Employee Investigations

Understanding organizational culture

Walking in the employee's shoes

Getting the facts straight

Being prepared to change course

Understanding the potential for bias

Analysing employee relations data

Looking after the investigators

Living, working and functioning in imperfect systems

Restoration, re-​integration and recovery

Rethinking policies

A whole team approach

13 A Call to Action: The Disciplinary Process through the Lens of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development's Profession Map -​ Principles-​Led, Evidence-​Based and Outcomes-​Driven

The professional's responsibility

Principles-​led: upholding ethical standards

Evidence-​based: ensuring objectivity

Outcomes-​driven: focusing on positive impact

Looking for Support, New Insights and Resources to Help with Your Employee Investigations?

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-5292-4511-7

9781529245110

OCLC:

1545744190